CHAPTER 1

TOPICS
Scripts used to write Sa

sk tam

The Devan gar script

Vowels
Consonants
Conjunct consonants
Point of articulation, and effort to pronounce the letters
Exercise
Scripts Used to Write Sa

sk tam

Sa sk tam is a phonetically precise language. Any script which is capable of

symbolizing sounds precisely can be used to write Sa sk tam. The scripts of all the Aryan
languages, which are evolutes of Sa sk tam, can be used as are the scripts of three
Dravidian languages, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannadam. But theTamil script cannot be
used since the language lacks the degree of phonetic perfection required by Sa sk tam. A
modified Tamil script called grantha, is used by Tamil-speaking people to write
Sa sk tam. With the addition of proper diacritical marks Roman script may also be used.
Typically, if the native script of any language is used to write Sa sk tam, the writing is
called transliteration. WIth the widespread use of computers, there is a need for a simpler
way to write Sa sk tam with only the characters available in a normal key board. One of
the prefered methods is to use lower case letters to represent short vowels and
consonants for which an equivalent letter is available. Upper case letters are reserved for
long vowel and consonant sounds which are not native to English.a In this book we will use
the Devan gar script. We will also employ the Roman script with necessary diacritical
marks when Sa sk tam terms are used in an English sentence.

www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/transliteration.html

Introduction to Sa sk tam with P

in ya Grammar (Chapter 1, page 1. August 17, 2004)

The Devan gar script

The Sa sk tam alphabet, like all languages has vowels and consonants. Each vowel or
consonant sound is defined both by the point in the vocal apparatus where the sound is
articulated and the effort needed to produce the sound represented by the letter. In
addition, the time taken for utterance of the letters varies.
Vowels
The Sa sk tam term for the vowel is svara derived from the root r j (to shine). The erm
means that which shines, that is, one that can stand independently.b There are thirteen vowel
sounds in Sa sk tam which includes nine simple vowels and four diphthongs. The nine
vowels are often considered, from grammatical perspective to consist of five simple
vowels. Four of these simple vowels have both short and long forms while the fifth does
not have a long form. Since short and long vowels have the same point of articulation as
well as effort, their differnce being only in the duration for utterance, this compression to five
simple vowels makes it easier to formulate euphonic combination rules (Chapter 2).
In Sa sk tam each vowel is represented by two symbols -- one symbol represents
the vowel when it stands alone, and another when the same vowel is added to a
consonant (ak ara, called a syllable in English). For example, the word 'iti' is written as
the symbol
as

represents the vowel sound 'i' when it stands alone. The syllable 'ti' is written

the symbol

represents the same vowel sound 'i' when added to the consonant 't'

Table 1.1 shows both the forms of each vowel in Devan gar and Roman transliteration.
The consonant 'p',

is used in these examples. Note that a simple consonant (without a

following vowel) is always written with a nether stroke, called vir ma under the symbol, as
illustrated in

. When the vowel 'a' follows a consonant, the nether stroke is removed. For

other vowels, in addition to removal of the nether stroke, a unique symbol representing the
vowel is added to the consonant. Note that the symbol for the vowel ' is written before
the consonant symbol. Of this set of thirteen vowels,

and occur rarely, leaving eleven

A Dictionary of Sankrit Grammar, Kashinath Vasudev Abhyankar and J.M. Shukla, Oriental Institute Baroda
(India) 1977, page 438

Introduction to Sa sk tam with P

in ya Grammar (Chapter 1, page 2. August 17, 2004)

frequently used vowel sounds.

Table 1.1. The Devan gar script: Vowels
Stand alone

Transliteration

With a consonant

Example

Transliteration

e
ai
o
au
Consonants
The Sa sk tam name for a consonant is vya ana which means that which manifests
itself in the presence of a vowel, incapable of standing alone.'c There are 33 consonants, a
group of 25 divided in to five subgroups of five consonants each, a goup of five called
semi-vowels and a group of three called sibilants. The rationale behind such divisions will
be clear when we analyze the point of articulation and effort necessary to pronounced the
sounds represented by these symbols.
c

A Dictionary of Sankrit Grammar, Kashinath Vasudev Abhyankar and J.M. Shukla, Oriental Institute Baroda
(India) 1977, page 373

Introduction to Sa sk tam with P

in ya Grammar (Chapter 1, page 3. August 17, 2004)

As stated earlier, a consonant with no associated vowel sound is represented by the

consonant symbol written with a nether stroke. Since pronouncing a consonant sound
unassociated with a vowel sound is difficult to hear clearly, the consonant is usually referred
to in speech by adding the suffix ak ra Thus pak ra means simple consonant,
unassociated with any vowel sound represented by the symbol

(p). The consonant

( , however, is referred to as repha.

Table 1.2. The Devan gar script: Consonants

Some special symbols and Conjunct Consonants

Anusv ra, Vir ma, Visarga and Avagraha
When some consonants occur at the end of a word a special symbol is assigned to
them. One such consonant is mak ra,

Under certain conditions, described under Sandhi

rules (Chapter 2) the final mak ra is called anusv ra and is represented by the symbol
This symbol goes on top of the preceding consonant as illustrated in the following sentence
-- aya

sarati

Note in the devan gar the end of a sentence is shown by another symbol , a vertical

Introduction to Sa sk tam with P

in ya Grammar (Chapter 1, page 4. August 17, 2004)

line, also called vir ma which stands for the period in English. In verses, end of a line is
shown by this symbole and end of the verse by the symbol

The language has no

other marks of punctuation.

The final sak ra or a repha, under certain conditions (Sandhi rules, Chapter 2) is changed
to what is called a visarga and is written as

An example follows: 'aya

gaja

is

written as
In addition, a sandhi rule (Chapter 6) provides for an optional way to pronounce the
combination of a visarga sound followed by a some consonants. Depending on the
following consonant, the same symbol is called jihv m l ya and upadm n ya. Since this is
an optional rule in secular language, though necessary rule in vedic chanting the symbol is
not presented here but introduced later (Chapter 6).
The application of a sandhi rule (Chapter 2) results in elimination of the initial short vowel
For ease of understanding that there was a vowel, the symbol

called avagraha is

used in this letter's place. Unlike other symbols however, this is not pronounced.
Conjunct Consonants
Two or more consonants can come together before a vowel sound. In Samsk tam as
many as five consonants can come together in this way. This combination of more than one
consonant is called a conjunct consonant. Although the phonetic integrity of the combined
letters is always maintained, their structural integrity is not. The new form is usually, but not
always, a combination of elements from the component letters. A certain amount of
familiarity with the formation of conjunct consonants is a must for anyone starting the study of
Samsk tam. A mastery of all possible conjunct consonants, fortunately, can wait. Almost all
conjunct consonants can be grouped under one of the four basic types, described in this
book as Types I -IV. This is just to make it easy to understand the process of formation of
conjunct consonants in Devan gar script. Transliteration using the script native to other
languages, like the Roman script does not have this peculiarity.
Type I: A portion of the first consonant is retained and the second consonant is written in

Introduction to Sa sk tam with P

in ya Grammar (Chapter 1, page 5. August 17, 2004)

full. A review of the vowels and consonants in Devanagar script shows that all of them
have a vertical line as an integral part. Table 1.3 lists such instances.
TABLE 1. 3 - TYPE I CONJUNCT CONSONANTS
1st Consonant

2nd Consonant

Conjunct Cons.

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Example

in ya Grammar (Chapter 1, page 6. August 17, 2004)

Type II: The second consonant is placed below the first. Examples follow (Table 1.4).
TABLE 1. 4 - Type II Conjunct Consonants
1st Consonant

2nd Consonant

Conjunct cons.

Example

Type III: Conjunct consonants with repha are formed differently depending on whether
the repha is the first or the second member of the conjunct consonant. When repha is the
first member, the symbol for repha is placed above the second member. When repha is
the second member, it is represented by a slanted line attached to the side of the first
member. In a few cases it will be represented by the symbol placed below the first
consonant (Table 1.5).

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TABLE 1. 5 Type III Conjunct Consonants

1st Consonant

2nd Consonant

Conjunct Cons.

Example

Type IV: In some cases the conjunct consonant has a symbol that is different from the
component consonants. Some special forms of commonly used conjunct consonants are
given below (Table 1.6).
TABLE 1. 6 Type IV Conjunct Consonants
1st Consonant

2nd Consonant

Conjunct Cons.

Example

The principles discussed above are also applicable to formation of conjunct consonants
with more than two consonants.

Introduction to Sa sk tam with P

in ya Grammar (Chapter 1, page 8. August 17, 2004)

Point of Articulation, and Effort to Pronounce the Letters

The phonetic precision is achieved by defining how a letter is uttered. In producing a
sound the vocal organ which includes the throat the mouth are involved and nasalisation is
also necessary for certain sounds. Thus every letter is precisely defined both in terms of
point of articulation and the effort necesary to pronounce the letters.
Point of Articulation (

There are five loci of articulation to utter a sound. They are the throat, palate, lips, roof of
the palate, and teeth. Any vowel or consonant can thus be named after the point of
articulation respectively, guttural, palatal, labial, retroflex (also called cerebral or lingual) and
dental. Some vowels and consonants have more than one point of articulation. Diphthongs
and the semi-vowel

are examples of having more than one point of articulation.

Another category, which is not treated separately is nasalization combined with the point of
articulation, such a consonant is called nasal. Once can utter any vowel also with a nasal
sound, such nasalized vowels are usually found in vedas and in grammar works. Vowels
and consonants grouped in terms of points of articulation follow. Note that for ease of
pronunciation the consonants are written as syllables, that is with
Table 1.7. Point of Articulation: Simple Vowels (Nine), Diphthongs (Four)
Vowel

Point of articulation

Name after point of articulation

Throat (ka ha)

Guttural / velar (ka hya)

Palate (t lu)

Palatal (t lavya)

Lip (o ha)

Labial (o hya)

Roof of the palate (m

dh )

Retroflex / lingual (m rdhanya)

Tooth (danta)

Dental (dantya)

Throat and palate (ka hat lu)

guttural palatal (ka hat avya)

Throat and lips (ka ho ha)

guttural labial (ka ho

Introduction to Sa sk tam with P

ya)

in ya Grammar (Chapter 1, page 9. August 17, 2004)

Table 1. 8. Consonants: Point of Articulation

Group Name

Cosonants included

Transliteration

Guttural (ka hya)

ka, kha, ga, gha, a, ha,

Palatal (t lavya)

ca, cha, ja, jha, na, ya, a

Retroflex (m rdhanya)

a, ha, a, ha, a, ra, a

Dental (dantya)

ta, tha, da, dha, na, la, sa

Labial (o hya)

pa, pha,ba, bha, ma,

Dental/ labial (danto hya)

va

One consonant, the fifth in each class is called a nasal (anun sika). Thus the guttural
nasal is

palatal nasal is

The two special symbols called visarga, sometimes called visarjan ya and anusv ra
are included in this set of consonants.

has two points of articulation, the teeth and lips and thus is a dentolabial.

Each set of five consonants in each class is refered by a short hand notation by
adding the vowel u to the first consonant of the series. Thus the group of five guttural
consonants, the ka-varga is refered by
ca-varga is refered by

the group of five palatal consonants, the

etc. Table 1.9 groups letters using this notation.

Table 1. 9. Point of Articulation, Vowels and Consonants

Group Name

Vowels and Cosonants

Guttural / velar (ka hya)

Palatal (t lavya)
Retroflex / lingual(m rdhanya)
Dental (dantya)
Labial (o hya)
Dental / labial (danto hya)

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Time for Utterance (m tr )

The time taken to utter the letters is also defined. One unit of time is called a m tra.
Consonants take half a m tra of time, while short vowels take one m tra, a long vowel takes
two m tras. When calling some one, the final vowel in the name can take more than two
m tras, such a vowel is called a prolated vowel. Usually this is represented with a number in
parentheses followed by the name, e.g., R ma (3)

The number represents the

units of time, in this case, three m tras. It is clear that the point of articulation remaining the
same, only the duration of utterance changes for short, long and prolated vowels. Vowel
does not have the long form while diphthongs do not have the short form.
Effort (pra

The effort needed to make a vowel or a consonant sound is two fold -- Internal
( bhyantara prayatnam) and External (b hya-yatnam). The terms internal and external are
with reference to the mouth; external meaning part of the vocal organ which is external to the
mouth, that is the throat. There are five-fold internal and eleven-fold external efforts.
Internal ( bhyantara prayatnam): The internal effort grouping is based on the degree
of contact of the tongue with upper palate and the degree of closure of the glottis in
producing the sound. They are touched (sp

a), slightly touched ( atsp

a), slightly open

( adviv ta), open (viv ta) and contracted (sa v ta).d The first two refer to contact of the
tongue with the upper palate while the next three refer to the degree of opening of the
glottis.
External effort (b hya-prayatnam): External effort, on the other hand is based on the
use of vocal cords, and the throat. They are: (1) expansion of the throat resulting in hard
articulation (viv ra), (2) contraction producing soft articulation (sa v ra), (3) voiceless breath
needed for uttering ( v sa), (4) voicing caused by the vibration of the vocal cords in the
open glottis when air passes through (n da), (5) deep tone (gho a), (6) absence of deep

Laghukaumudi of Varadaraja, James R. Ballantyne, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Dlehi, 1997, page 6

Introduction to Sa sk tam with P

in ya Grammar (Chapter 1, page 11. August 17, 2004)

tone often called unvoiced (agho a),e (7) the degree of aspiration necessary to utter the
sound, minimal termed unaspirate (alpapr
(mah pr

a) and (8) strong aspiration called aspirate

a). The remaining three are applicable only to vowels, they are all accents,

primarily used in Vedas. In P

ini's grammar system accents are also used in listing of roots

but is not in vogue in secular use of the language. The accents in grammar are used as
codes and thus can be considered a 'technical use' in addition to being a mere accent. The
three accents are (9) acute (ud tta), (10) grave (anud tta) and (11) circumflex (svarita).
The vowels and consonants are grouped based on efforts (Table 1.10.)
Table 1. 10 A. Internal and External Effort, Vowels
Internal effort

open (viv ta) except in actual use

External effort

sa v ra, n da, gho a, alpapr

is contracted (sa v ta)

a, ud tta, anud tta, svarita

Table 1. 10 B. Internal and External Effort, Consonants

Touched
sp a

alpapr

a mah pr a alpapr
viv ra
v sa
agho a (voiceless/surd)
surds (hard)

Slightly
touched
atsp a

mah pr

a alpapr a alpapr
sa v ra
n da
gho a (voiced / sonant)
sonants (soft)

Slightly
open
adviv ta

mah pr a
viv ra
v sa
agho a
surds(hard)

A Dictionary of Sankrit Grammar, Kashinath Vasudev Abhyankar and J.M. Shukla, Oriental Institute Baroda
(India) 1977, pages 397, 216, 148, 7

Introduction to Sa sk tam with P

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unaspirate (alpapr

Among consonants gho a group is called soft consonants, the agho a

group hard consonants.

and

a), aspirate (mah pr

a)

are called sibilants.

All vowels have accent, acute, grave and circumflex (not shown in table).

Note that the long vowels as well as prolated vowels are not listed. This is
because they differ only in terms of duration of utterance and not effort as
compared to the short form. One may include the long along with the
corresponding short form in the Table for explicit completeness.

Nasalized vowels also are not listed since they are relevant only in the
vedas and grammatical listings.

The internal effort for utterance short vowel

is in reality 'contracted'. But
for purposes of rules of P in ya grammar it is treated as though the
internal effect were 'open'.

Relevance of Articulation, Effort and Time for Utterance

The detailed delienation of points of articulation and effort for pronunciation of letters have
the advantage of creating a unique written symbol for each sound, making it easy for
phonetic precision. In addition, a basic knowledge of the origin of the sounds is necessary to
understand the rules of euphonic combination (sandhi rules) and substituion of letters during
word formation.
Potential Pitfalls in Writing the Devan gar Script
When writing and reading these letters, pay close attention to symbols which look very
similar but represent quite different sounds. Here are a few examples.
hak ra and
ghak ra and
mak ra and
ak ra and

dak ra
dhak ra
bhak ra
ak ra

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pak ra and

ak ra

In the following examples the letters look different but have similar sounds.
ak ra,
tak ra and

sak ra and

ak ra

ak ra
Exercise

1. Write the Following Words in Samsk tam:

Introduction to Sa sk tam with P

in ya Grammar (Chapter 1, page 14. August 17, 2004)

2. List all the variants of the following vowels --

and

(Hint: based on m tr and nasalization)

3. List all consonants which are aspirates, both hard and soft.
4. List the letters of the alphabet having more than one point of articulation.

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